PORTLAND, Ore. — Less than half of registered voters across Oregon have turned in their ballots, as of the latest unofficial return numbers reported on Monday. This year, in Portland, voting looks a little different. People call the voting process for local races overwhelming and time-consuming but important.
For one thing, 98 candidates are running for Portland City Council and 12 will represent Portland’s four districts under the city's new form of government. Which means voting this year took some work.
“It just took a long time to do my homework and make a lot of notes,” said Peyton Lee, who lives in Portland’s District 4.
“It was kind of overwhelming… I kind of went and researched through endorsements and things like that,” added Peter Vantas, who also lives in District 4.
“There was a lot of candidates," said McKenzie while turning in her ballot at the Pioneer Courthouse Square drop box Monday morning. "I don't think we needed that many candidates."
Also, for the first time, Portland has ranked-choice voting for the city council and mayoral races. Which means you can rank up to six candidates in order of preference.
“It does give people a little bit of a chance to go around the idea that you have to always hold your nose and vote for the person that you hate the least. You can at least make some choices that say this really represents my values,” said Patrick McDade, who lives in Portland's District 2.
All of that takes patience for voters, like Michael Rees.
“It's not what I’m used to doing," Reese said.
Initially, Reese had filled-out the ranked-choice section incorrectly.
"I had to stop myself and find an ink eraser and rub out what I’d marked there,” he said. “I just have to get my brain into the mechanics of it."
There are some people for all of the above reasons who are choosing not to vote at all, like Zach who lives and works in downtown Portland.
“It's too confusing," he said. "It's too many people. Too much stuff going on."
“If there was a place to learn more about them to learn more about the people that we're voting for,” added Zach's friend Diego.
There are resources for people like Diego and Zach, including the voter pamphlet, KGW’s election page, or local elections offices, which are staying open late Monday and Tuesday.
“Incredibly important to vote," Lee said. "Everybody should get out. Not just for the national elections but the local elections have a huge effect on what our day-to-day life looks like."
There is also the Attorney General’s voter protection hotline at 971-673-411 for any non-emergency concerns related to voter intimidation.